Free Love For Hire: The Helena's Grove Series Book 2 by Ivy Alexander Page B

it soothed her. She could feel his heart beating and that was comforting. Everything about this man eased and comforted her, without him even having to try. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. “Thank you Marcus,” she said softly.
    “For what?”
    “For understanding.”
    There was silence before he kissed the top of her head and his arm tightened around her. “You’re welcome.”
     

Chapter 10
     
    Annie awoke with Marcus still holding her. It was Saturday morning and thankfully, Zack didn’t have any big plans for the morning hours. She glanced at the clock on the dresser; 6:08, which meant it was actually 8:08 since Annie had not yet changed the clock. She laid there, eyes closed, soaking in the moment. This was her favorite part of relationships – just laying together, enjoying each other’s company without saying a word. Of course she knew her relationship with Marcus wasn’t real, but in that moment, it felt real. Marcus stirred and she looked up at him. “Good morning.”
    “Good morning,” he said politely. He rubbed his eyes and sat up abruptly. Annie was forced to move out of his way as he stood and made his way to the bathroom. Confused, she sat there wondering why he’d left. After she heard the shower turn on she forced herself to get out of bed and get dressed. Making her way downstairs she found Aunt Gabby sitting on the couch in the living room. There were no lights on; the house was quiet. Annie got a cup of coffee and joined her aunt. They sat in silence, watching the snow fall outside.
    “I love the snow,” Aunt Gabby said quietly.
    Annie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s awesome.”
    “When I was little my dad used to tell me that snow was made from a very special cotton candy, and it only tasted like cotton candy if you caught it on your tongue while it was still in the air. If it was allowed to touch the ground or stop moving the taste faded away. I would stand outside with my tongue sticking out for what seemed like hours, trying to accumulate enough snow to know what that special cotton candy tasted like,” Aunt Gabby said and then there was silence for a moment as she continued to watch the snow fall. “I could never quite get enough,” she continued.
    Annie watched Aunt Gabby as she spoke. At seventy-six she seemed younger than her years – so energetic and upbeat. But in these rare moments when the world was quiet, Annie could sometimes catch a glimpse of a woman that had lived seventy-six years, and had seen and experienced more than she would ever divulge.
    “Why didn’t you ever marry?” Annie asked without thinking.
    Aunt Gabby looked at her, clearly surprised by her question. “I guess you could say I never felt inclined. Marriage to me was something that was forever, or meant to be. I hardly ever saw a marriage last throughout the couple’s lives, unless one of them died young.”
    “So you have no faith in people? Hardly seems a good reason to withhold yourself from something that can be wonderful because of that.”
    Aunt Gabby shook her head and looked down at her coffee; little wisps of steam rose from it and she seemed to watch them for a time. “I never met anyone I felt that committed to. Relationships are a lot of work and I was always…” She shrugged. “Busy.” She smiled at Annie. “I got older and thought for a time I wanted marriage, but then I met your mother and you kids and my loneliness was taken care of. Besides, it’s hard to know who the right one is.”
    Annie was nodding. “Right, I see what you mean. How do you even know if someone is the one ? And if they aren’t the one is it worth settling? Is it worth it to keep looking? What if you never find the one , or worse, what if you do and it doesn’t work out? What if circumstances are such that you can never be together? Do you move on? Do you let go and know in your heart that your soul mate will never be yours?”
    Aunt Gabby looked at her suspiciously and then said